Cassius dove from the sky in a silent arc, the Aeriusbolt Supreme cutting through the wind like a whispered threat.
The edges of the Forbidden Forest rushed up beneath him—dark, cold, ancient.
And the further he drew from the jubilant noise of the stadium, the more he felt it:
The wrongness.
The hungry cold.
The thickening pressure of approaching Dementors.
Perfect.
Just what he needed.
If he played this right, the Dementors—temporary guardians of hogwarts—would be drawn like starving wolves toward the nearest dark presences.
And the three signatures Cassius felt were very dark indeed.
He brought his broom down hard, cloaking his landing in a muffled shimmer of snow.
The moment he touched the ground, the forest swallowed him whole.
Silence.
Cold.
Breath turning white.
And voices—whispers carried on the wind.
Not Dementors.
Human.
He crept forward, feet making no sound on the frosted earth, drawing closer until he could see the clearing.
And there they were.
Three Death Eaters.
Bellatrix Lestrange.
Amycus Carrow.
And Alecto Carrow—already on one knee, panting, blood painting her sleeve.
Cassius's eyes narrowed.
He'd been right.
But Pettigrew… no trace.
He slipped a hand into his robe and activated the Marauder's Map.
Ink swam.
Names glowed.
Paths revealed.
He scanned rapidly.
Peter Pettigrew… Peter… Pett—
His breath froze.
Pettigrew's name was moving—but from the castle, not away.
Whatever he had been doing was already done, and he was scampering off to freedom once more.
A scream tore through the clearing.
"THEY'RE HERE—!"
Amycus's voice.
Cassius jerked his head up.
Dementors were descending.
Not three.
Not five.
Not a patrol.
A swarm.
More than he'd ever seen at once save for the movies, gliding from all sides, drawn to the concentrated malice and fear of the two Carrows and Bellatrix.
Bellatrix was laughing she actually enjoyed her time at Azkaban save for the lack of Voldemorts presence.
And now staring down a horde of dementors she was cackling like she had just been reuinited with old friends.
Even as her breath turned to mist, even as the shadows closed in, she spun her wand in jagged arcs.
"STUPEFY! IMPEDIMENTA! BOMBARD—HAHAHAHA—BOMBARDA!"
The spells cracked like lightning, driving a handful of Dementors back but doing little more than slowing them.
Dementors did not fear pain.
Or death.
But they did crave suffering.
And the three Death Eaters offered plenty.
Amycus stumbled backward, wand shaking.
"I—I can't—! It's too many—!"
Alecto collapsed fully, clutching her head, her voice dissolving into choked sobs as the dementors closed around her.
Cassius watched—still hidden, still silent.
The sight was gruesome.
Dementors closing like vultures, frost crawling over branches, the Carrows' breaths turning frantic as despair ate at their souls.
Bellatrix, for all her madness, fought ferociously—her movements wild, brilliant, destructive—but even she was faltering.
Each time one got close enough a light 'kiss' was applied causing them to weaken further.
Cassius's fingers clenched around the map.
He had to make a choice, either let those before him now suffer and probably die to the swarm, or go after pettigrew hoping to capture him and learn what plot he'd set in motion within the castle walls.
Alecto gave a rattling scream as two Dementors bent low, breath seeking her mouth.
Amycus tried to reach her, slashing his wand desperately.
"GET OFF HER! GET OFF HER!"
Bellatrix staggered, her curses losing coherence.
The air thickened with cold so deep it hurt to breathe.
Cassius tensed.
His plan had been simple:
Lure the Dementors to the intruders.
Let them back the death eaters into a corner.
Allow two of them to receive their just desserts.
All while capturing the third for... therapy.
But this—
This was too much.
The number of Dementors arriving on the scene, it was if the entire sum of their number the world over had descended upon this place.
Cassius exhaled once.
Quiet.
Controlled.
Final.
"…Tch. Fine."
He stepped out of hiding.
Snow shifted beneath his boot.
Bellatrix's head snapped up, eyes widening from their previous half closed state.
Amycus froze.
Alecto barely breathed, curled in on herself.
The Dementors turned toward the warm pulse of his soul—eager, hungry, sensing richer prey, filled to the brim with happy memories, and warm feelings.
Cassius lifted his wand.
His voice was steady.
Soft.
Lethal.
"Expecto Patronum."
The world detonated in starlight.
The force of the spell ruptured outward, a shockwave of divine like magic rippling like a cosmic heartbeat.
And then—
Akon Kagura erupted into existence once more.
The Primordial Dragon Patronus slammed into the clearing like a living comet, its wings unfurling with a roar that cracked ancient bark.
Its divine presence crushed the Dementors' hunger instantly.
They shrieked—horrible, ragged, desperate—pulling back as the dragon lunged, jaws snapping with celestial fury.
It had only been weeks since Cassius had learnt the spell but thanks to his growing magical power along with the mana storm training he'd completed as a tyke, his mana level nowadays easily surpassed Dumbledore or even Grindlewald, the only thing truly holding him back was lack of usable spells, since just reading about a spell in a book didnt seem to be enough.
He'd learned that the hardway, trying to fill his system list with ever spell ever recorded before then setting to the task of raising their ranks one after another.
In the face of this summoned divine entity, Shadows fled in panic.
The dragon surged forward, sweeping its wings in a colossal arc, sending the entire swarm scattering into the sky like torn smoke.
The forest brightened.
The air warmed.
And silence fell.
The dementors knew when they had been defeated and in haste retreated from the site.
Meanwhile Cassius turning his head down to the ground after watching the dark creatures fleeing from him in terror, noticed the grounds were clear, the three death eaters previously on the verge of death themselves had vanished.
Escaping to their hideout in the wake of the intense fight between light and darkness.
Shrugging his shoulder Cassius did not mind, afterall Peter still had his own plan in place, that meant at least one more bite of the apple before he'd lose this chance.